Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of households

In terms of age structure, the distribution of the household population in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) conforms to the pattern characteristic of high-fertility populations, with the largest proportion of the population in the 0- 4 age group, at the base of the population pyramid. Some countries in SSA, such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, and most countries in the other regions that have begun their fertility transition, have smaller population bases. The trends in age structure using DHS data from 16 countries with more than one survey indicate that, for the most part, there is a slight decline in the populations under the ages of 5 and 15 respectively. The decline has been more substantial in countries where fertility is in transition, including the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, Peru, and Zimbabwe. Medium-size households (3-5 members) predominate in Latin America and some Asian Countries, largely due to low fertility. Large households with 6 or more members are most common in the Near East and North Africa and parts of SSA. Small households with 1 or 2 members are also prevalent in SSA, where they are more common than was previously thought. The data on household headship indicate that the traditional image of the male-headed household is largely intact in most countries of the Near East, North Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where the percentage of male-headed households is more than 80%. A different pattern emerges, however, in SSA and the Caribbean, where in 14 of 22 countries, the percentage of female- headed households is quite high, ranging from 21% to 39%. The trends in female-headship rates for 16 countries indicate that there has been an increase in the proportion of female-headed households in half of the countries and a decrease in the other half. The increase was most pronounced in Guatemala and Zambia, and Peru experienced the largest decrease. Results also show that the level of orphanhood for children under age 15 is uniformly low, but it is higher in SSA and the Caribbean than in the other regions. It is particularly high in countries with high adult death rates from AIDS such as Haiti, Uganda, and Zambia. The same pattern applies to the level of fostering for young children under age 5 and children between the ages of 5 and 14. The lowest levels of fostering are found in the Near East, North Africa, and Asia, except for the Philippines. This report also discusses the socioeconomic profile of households, ranging from education to the standard of living. For example, most countries with the lowest levels of educational attainment have a Moslem majority. In addition, there is a gender gap in the proportion with no schooling. Overall, across all regions, there are more women who did not attend school than men. Latin America has the lowest gap between the sexes. With regard to housing characteristics, household possessions, and the standard of living index (SLI), most countries in SSA have lower scores than most countries in the other regions. For example, 8 of the 20 countries in SSA have a low SLI, while the rest of the countries fall into the medium-low SLI range. Only 7 countries from the other regions fall into these two categories (Bangladesh and Nepal have a low SLI, and Haiti, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Yemen have a medium-low SLI). The potential use of DHS household data for further analysis is substantial, as detailed in conclusion. Includes references. (Author abstract, modified)